Building digital and analytical capabilities to support budget rationalisation

Challenge

Faced with shrinking donor support and the country’s economic and financial collapse, Lebanon’s Interior Ministry was under pressure to make more effective use of available resources. The absence of a government wide strategic framework guiding aid programming hampered coordination and encouraged an ad-hoc approach to program funding and design. Ministry staff lacked the means to effectively lead the dialogue around funding, owing to the absence of clear policies, systems and processes to collect, process and analyse data related to aid programming. 

Approach

Combining systems-thinking, a client-centered approach and custom-built digital solutions, Siren helped embed evidence driven decision making around aid programming at the Ministry. This involved supporting the creation of:

• An Analysis, Planning and Coordination Unit at the Ministry. The APC Unit ensured a strategic and data-driven approach. It coordinated donors and partners to ensure that resources are used efficiently and effectively to address ministerial priorities. Siren supported the ministry to define the terms of reference for the unit; recruit competent staff; refurbish fit-for-purpose offices; and develop new processes for donor and inter-ministerial coordination. Siren additionally trained and mentored staff on data analysis, strategic planning, programme management and communications so the government was equipped to lead reform efforts.  

  
  

• A Donor Coordination Platform that gave the Ministry the capability to collect, monitor and assess information about donor programming. The platform had a powerful back-end business intelligence tool to analyse incoming data. The platform created clear visualisations of this data that APC Unit staff used to inform their consultations with partners. The donor coordination platform was flexible, and could be adapted readily to other institutional needs 

Outcomes

• Standardised data collection in relation to donor programming. Relevant donor and project information digitised on the Donor Coordination Platform.

• Ministry staff better able to oversee funds and projects, avoid duplication and resource wastage, and effectively lead funding dialogue.

• Optimised processes for donor and inter-ministerial coordination

• Fit-for-purpose offices for the APC Unit